


oh, and you'll burn alright. i'll make sure of it.

by torabasu



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Has A Palace, Akechi Goro and Sakura Futaba Are Half-Siblings, Akechi Goro-centric, Alternate Universe - Arcana Swap (Persona Series), hermit!akechi, justice!futaba, the only swap is akechi and futaba.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:36:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torabasu/pseuds/torabasu
Summary: you hate them. you hate them so, so much. all they're good for is making you angry and nothing else. if it weren't for them, maybe you'd be normal. maybe you'd have a better life. no, of course not, you're left to be at the bottom rung of society because they're all fuck-ups who can't own up to it. if it weren't for them, maybe you'd be special and have a shot in the world. but no. of course not. you're not particularly violent but you think one day you'll give them hell.aka: hermit akechi au where he's really, really angry that no one asked for.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Sakura Futaba
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	oh, and you'll burn alright. i'll make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> oughhh i hope i did goro justice lol... if you guys want the futaba side of this lmk and i'll provide. idk if this is good or not but enjoy and lmk what you think in the comments. this is my first drabble for the persona fandom after all

it sucks, honestly. the way society treats people like you, kids like you. it makes you angry. far too angry.

you remember the day your mother killed herself, and how it was all because your damned father. he left the two of you to fend for yourselves, left her to raise a child by herself. you don’t resent her for her sex work, no, not at all. she would always shoo to the bathhouse if she brought a client home and would come to get you afterwards. she always made you feel _loved_. you couldn’t ask for a better mother. she did everything in her power to try and make life good. in the end, though, it looks like she couldn’t take the stress of it all. you’re not mad at her, you’re not disappointed at her, no, the one you’re so mad with is your damned father.

after that, you got thrown into the foster system. it was awful, overcrowded and swarmed with adults who didn’t care. for every ten of you, there was one “caregiver” that didn’t give a shit about any of the children. they did their job and nothing more. thankfully, though, after a while of being tossed around, a woman named wakaba isshiki takes you in permanently. even though this goes on her permanent documents, even though you’re an illegitimate child, even though society would label you as a “troublemaker child” she still took you in. perhaps mercy does exist.

when you arrive at your new home, wakaba introduces your to her biological daughter: futaba isshiki. she’s shy, but a kind girl nonetheless. you expect there to be some favoritism, for wakaba to ignore you in favor of futaba. but she never does. she’s warm, kind, and even if she works herself hard, she always has time for the two of you. always. you and futaba get along, too. she’s your little sister now. life is getting better, life is changing for the better. you’re glad.

until wakaba dies, that is.

she dies and you’re mad all over again. perhaps even as mad as you were when your mother killed herself. no, though, you’re not mad at wakaba. you’re mad because someone went and fucking killed her. the note “she” left? what a fucking joke. she wouldn’t ever write this sort of thing. you don’t give it a second thought. it’s not sincere, and if it somehow is, she did a damn good job of hiding it all. you wonder if your father was involved in this. after all, futaba and you are both the illegitimate children of masayoshi shido. maybe he was just worried about getting the word out. that bastard isn’t worth your time, and yet, he makes you so, so angry. who does he think he is?

as it turns out, shido isn’t the only shitty adult. people try approach you and futaba, try to say things, try to blame it on _her_ and you lose it. you refused to let anyone, _anyone_ , get near futaba during and after her funeral. she didn’t kill her self and it’s not futaba’s fault. stop trying to ask her about things, stop trying to make her _feel bad_ about something she couldn’t control, something she didn’t do. futaba grieves for a long time, and you don’t blame her. you think she blames herself and that makes you angry at those damn adults again. what do they know? nothing.

soon enough, though, futaba starts getting into a few things. she starts getting into detective stuff, cognitive psience, and computers. you’re afraid that she’s going to become some sort of hikikomori, especially when the your uncle gets custody of the two of you. you hate that man, too. he’s so infuriating, refusing to let futaba _bathe_ , refusing to even _feed_ her. what kind of guardian is that? a bad one. _you’d_ make a better guardian and you’re barely even 15. despite the horrible living circumstances, though, futaba continues to go to school, continues to look into her interests. you’re glad she can still smile at a time like this.

then sojiro sakura steps in and saves the both of you from that hell. futaba takes his last name, but you stay as goro akechi. your last name is one of the few things you still have left to connect you with your dead birth mother. sojiro seems like a decent man, you’ll admit. he cooks, buys things for the both of you, allows the two of you to bathe and indulges into futaba’s hobbies, even if they’re a bit expensive. he tries to get you to go to school, too, which would be nice if you didn’t know that you’ll only run into shitty adults. you refuse, and sojiro doesn’t make you. maybe it’s because he sees how you tense up in front of adults, how ugly your expression becomes, or maybe it’s just because of the way you speak. how harsh your tone is or whatever. that you lack “respect” that isn’t even worthy of those awful adults anyways. regardless, you’re glad. you refuse to go and it’ll stay that way.   
  


you've become a shut-in at age 17, and you can't even say you're pissed off at that. it's society's fault. all adults are shitty and worthless. your dad, the caregivers, those adults at the funeral, futaba's uncle.. all of them. you hate them. you hate them so, so much. all they're good for is making you angry and nothing else. if it weren't for them, maybe you'd be normal. maybe you'd have a better life. no, of course not, you're left to be at the bottom rung of society because they're all fuck-ups who can't own up to it. if it weren't for them, maybe you'd be _special and have a shot in the world_. but no. of course not. you're not particularly violent but you think one day you'll give them hell. at the very least, futaba is fine and that's all that matters to you. she's strong and you're glad for that. if a shitty adult tries to ruin her life, you won't let them get away with it. it's fine if your life is thrown in the garbage ( it was already destined to begin with ) but no one can tamper with futaba's. no one.

futaba is 15 now, and she’s become japan’s “detective princess”. good for her, honestly. you just hope no adults try to take advantage of her. if they try, oh, you’ll give them a taste of a special kind of hell. you’ll be damned if you let one of the two people you have left get hurt by another shitty adult. regardless, futaba seems happy about her role in society and you can only be happy for her. what sort of big brother would you be if you couldn’t even support this? you’re angry and bitter and pessimistic, yes, but never towards futaba. you never will be. if she wishes to be the detective princess, you’ll support her wholeheartedly. you think it’s a bit funny that she’s got such a title when she’s such a massive nerd, though. her room’s a mess, too, but that’s fine. she’s happy and what she’s doing doesn’t seem to be harmful.

life is good right now, you’ll admit. until futaba comes back in tears one day. it’s your damn uncle, trying to get back custody. like hell you’d let him, though. for now, though, you hold futaba and comfort her instead of letting your anger consume you. the situation ends up resolved somehow and you’re glad. all you want is for futaba to be safe.

life continues as normal until one day you hear the front door open. it’s not sojiro, it’s too early. if it’s futaba, she’d announce she’s home. then again, it’s raining pretty hard. so hard, in fact, the power momentarily goes out. you hear someone unknown speak. a _few_ unknown people speak, actually. it’s dark right now, so surely you can get a peak at these people before it comes back on, right? so you do.

odd. they don’t _look_ threatening. so who are they and what do they want? one of them looks your way and screams. how irritating. then the lights come back on and you’re a little more than irritable. you can see them and they can see you. well, at least you can confirm they’re just high schoolers. still, though, you want these strangers gone.

“who the hell are you guys? what do you want, hm? are you here to vandalize this property? get out before i call the cops on you.” a somewhat empty threat. police are useless nowadays.

“we’re sorry if we frightened you,” a brunette spoke, “but—“

“i said get out.”

“but we—“ a blonde woman tries to say.

“my patience is wearing thin.”

“can you—“ some artsy looking man tries to speak.

“ **leave.** im giving you one last chance before i call the cops.” honestly, your anxiety is spiking and you’re not sure if you’re going to lash out in rage or have a breakdown if this doesn’t end soon.

“what the eff, futaba?! your brother’s nothing like how you describe him?”

futaba? do these people know her? is she okay? oh god, what if they—

“relax, he’s just a little anti-social! when people he doesn’t know show up, his attack and defense go _wayyy_ up. he never uses his super move, though.”

futaba comes out of the crowd and smiles at you. so she _does_ know these people. okay.

“big bro, meet my friends! there’s akira, ryuji, ann, yusuke and makoto!”

friends. okay. they’re all friends. you purse your lips and exhale through your nose. it all makes sense. futaba’s in high school now. of course she’d want to invite her close friends over.

“goro akechi,” you state. “don’t speak to me unless it’s in regards to futaba. another thing, don’t even think about hurting her, or i’ll hurt you ten times as much. goodbye.”

they all watch as you head to your room.

they never really do speak to you, and you’re relieved. it’s not like you could trust any of them anyways. sojiro and futaba are the only ones, you think. that’s why, when futaba approaches you to ask how you’re doing, you decide to be somewhat honest about it. it’s not a good look as an older brother, but sometimes you can’t help but feel that it’s your fault. the two of you confide in each other. you both know of the other’s hallucinations. futaba knows you best, knows that you blame yourself a _lot_ for both your mother and hers. she never hesitates to comfort you.

“big bro... what does this place feel like to you?”

you have to think on this for a second. what does this house feel like to you? it’s a house, yes, but... “to me, this is like a tomb. i’ll probably die here, to be honest. but that doesn’t bother me. i’ve always been a throwaway child after all.”

she frowns. you know she hates it when you say things like that about yourself, but.. it’s true.

“no matter what, i wont let that happen.”

that’s the last thing she says before she leaves.

a week or two after, you get a calling card. what the hell is this? don’t those phantom thieves or whatever they call themselves only send these to shitty adults? what the fuck is this? you might as well read it before you throw it away.

_goro akechi has commited a great sin of drowning in wrath. thus, we will rob every last bit of those distorted desires. signed, the phantom thieves._

what the hell? _what the hell?_ of course you’re angry! you have every right to be! if they went through all this, wouldn’t they be angry too? you’ll give them hell if you ever meet them. there’s no way people can steal hearts. as you go to lay down, you realize some strange app is on your phone. what the hell?

you click on it and feel nothing but regret. somehow, you’re in some... desert with a tomb? what could this be? your best bet of going back home is exploring, right? so you do. then you see this... other version of you, and you don’t really know what to do. he says nothing. he glares at you and starts to walk. you follow. the two of you reach the top and what you see almost makes you breakdown.

is that supposed to be your mother and wakaba they’re fighting? your mother.. she looks like a mummy and through her groans you make out that she’s wishing you were never born, that if it weren’t for you she’d still be alive. and wakaba.. she looks like some sort of sphinx. she’s screaming about how she should’ve never taken you in, that you were a bastard child. you dig your nails into your palm as you shake.

this other you turns your way and finally speaks. “is this truly what you believe? that the women you hold so dear would say this about you? even when all worldly evidence said otherwise?”

you swallow hard. “i...”

“don’t you dare try and bring up wakaba’s “suicide note”. you know it’s fake. you’ve said it time and time again. what really happened then, hm?”

she was pushed. she was pushed and it was all that damned man’s fault. your blood is boiling now and you want to rip that man and these filthy fakes your mind as created. you’re angry. so, _so_ angry.

then you hear a voice.

yes, you’re so tired of not sticking it to those filthy adults. you’re so pissed at them for what they did. you’re not going to let them hold you back anymore. you’re not going to let them drive you psychotic, no. you’re going to drive them psychotic instead.

it hurts, but you rip off that mask and scream. are you free? finally _free_? will your past _finally_ let you go?

“come, loki!”

you join the battle with futaba’s friends. you’re going to take down these mockeries of your mothers. what were you thinking? of course it was never like this! they would never think of you think! ever.

the battle ends shortly after you join and this.. place begins to crumble. miraculously, you all make it out alive. they all talk to you about this and that, and honestly you’re not completely listening. they ask if you’ll join then, and you say you’ll consider it. afterwards, you shoo them out and sleep for how a long, long time. a few days at least.

you eventually wake up and decide that you’ll join the phantom thieves. they’ve taken care of futaba, and as much as you hate to admit it, they’ve saved you from staying in the past. you need to repay them, and you want to make sure they keep futaba safe.

you start going outside more, even if you’re incredibly anxious and still accuse people of a whole bunch of things ( “what are you looking at, bastard? don’t give me such a pitiful stare! who the hell do you think you are!” ) but.. it’s getting easier with futaba and her friends. they manage to stop you.. sometimes. for right now, life is good and you hope it stays that way.


End file.
